Thursday, 27 October 2016

Over the weekend we made our way back to mainland Scotland via Skye. A drive to Tarbert and once the car was parked up in line ready for the ferry we had plenty of time for coffee at The Isle of Harris Distillers coffee shop. Then we popped into the Tarbert 'Harris Tweed' Shop where you can buy fabric by the metre. It was hard to choose one from the huge collection but I made my choice and was given some official 'Harris Tweed' woven labels to sew into what ever I make with the fabric.I will have to add a photo of this once I unload the car as it's packed away deep in the boot of the car!The ferry took us back to Uig on Skye and we drove from here to Portree for a car charge, then onto Broadford for the night at Dunollie Hotel.

This was the view from the hotel over breakfast on Sunday morning.

After breakfast we set off to Armadale for the Ferry, again we were able to put the car in line and go off and have a look around. Grumpy George the photogropher proved to be anything but grumpy - such a friendly, jolly character, he kept us entertained for a while telling us more ablou life on Skye and his business and pet parrot 'Pepi'.

George in the shop

Pepi

Pepi is not caged but sits on her perch and call out to customers. When it's time for George to go home Pepi jumps onto his finger and then they go out to the car and travel home!

The short ferry trip took us to Mallaig on the mainland. We charged the car here and had time to do a little window shopping.

The ferry at Mallaig

Our destination for the day was our B & B in Fort William, and it was a beautiful drive. We stopped at a village called Arisag where Alan's mother had been a lady's companion back in the early 1930's.

Our last full day on the island and a visit to two different chruches, even taking part in community life. First of all a visit to St. Clements Church at Rodel, very near to where we were staying. It was built around 1520 by Alexander MacLeod of
Dunvegan and
Harris. The inside is set up with interesting exibits and information and the graveyard is a fascinating place to explore. We took many photos and here are just a few.

Later in the day at Leverburgh we were looking for somewhere to stop for coffee and saw a sign outside the hall of the Church of Scotland inviting people to tea and coffee. We went inside and were made very welcome by the minister, David Donaldson and three local ladies. They made us coffee and offered a range of home made cakes, for which they refused to let us pay. We sat with them for a while and they talked about life in this beautiful and remote part of the world.

We were told they don't get a lot of snow on the island, but the winds can reach 120 mph, something for which they need to prepare themselves for. They add blankets, shovels and sacks of sand or lumps of concrete to their cars to prevent them being blown off the roads. We have experienced how narrow the single track roads are and how the surrounding tundra drops steeply away from the roads. In places the land falls away into the sea or rivers, so we can appreciate how travel could become very risky. They also experience power cuts for up to four days at a time.

photo from google

The people of this friendly congregation talked of the great sense of community in the villages and how they help one another out. Something which means they feel less isolated in these remote parts.

Wednesday, 26 October 2016

A longer trip out on Wednesday to Stornaway on the Isle of Lewis - about 55 miles from our cottage. This was the busiest place we have been for over two weeks! We charged the car at Tarbert on the way, but could also have done this at the Council Offices at Stornaway.

The Marina

Wood carving of a Highland cow near Stornoway

The Herring Girl Statue

Fisherman in Sou'wester

Thursday found us travelling back through Tarbert so we could drive over the bridge to Scalpay Isle...

Tuesday, 25 October 2016

On our travels around Harris on Monday we found ourselves at the Harris Tweed Exhibition at Drinishader. There is a fascinating display taking you through all the stages of making the cloth as well as the history of Harris Tweed.

On Tuesday we had a change of weather for a few hours, giving us a very different view of the beaches as we travelled around the island. We retuened to several of the places we have already seen for a second look.

Sunday, 23 October 2016

SaturdayUp at 05.00 today as we had to travel 60 miles from Ord to Uig, most of the length of Skye to catch the Ferry to The Isle of Harris. With a stop at Portree to charge in the dark on route to make sure we had enough power to drive onto our accommodation at Rodel when we get to the Outer Hebrides. So today was mostly taken up with travel and sorting ourselves out in our home for the next week. We were made very welcome by Annie and Rob at the comfortable self catering 'Moorfield Cottage'. We had been told so often about the beautiful beaches on Harris and we were not disappointed.

SundayA wet start to the morning but we headed off to Leverbridge Harbour to have a look about.

Drove on to Tarbert where we came in on the ferry yesterday. We had an excellent lunch here at the Hotel Hebrides near the to the harbour.

Travelled to the north of the Island today for a good look at several different places. Our aim being to get to Glendale where we were promised lots of local crafts including weavers of Harris Tweed.

On the way into the village we found Colbost Croft Museum and stopped off to have a have a look at this fascinating piece of history - life of the crofters in the 19th Century.

There was a little shed where you paid your entrance fee of £1.50, add your name to the visitors book and take your own ticket. This event needs it's own blog post, which I will try to get around to doing later!

We went on into the village looking for Red Roof Cafe Gallery which was highly recommended - but saw a sign saying it was closed for the season.

photo from Red Roof Cafe website

We found a real treasure of a cafe for lunch called at Cafe Lephin which also had a display of local craft work, and the most delicious lunchtime snacks and a very cosy atmosphere.

photo from Trip Advisor

We have been amazed throughout this trip at the number of post offices and post boxes in the remotest of places, compared to our experience at home. We no longer have a post office in Crayford at all!

We took a ride up the hill where the Red Roof Cafe was situated and stopped for a couple struggling across the road with some chickens, - it was the couple from the cafe, they were moving the chickens to a new home for the winter season, but stopped to chat about the business and life on Skye. They hold workshops and fitness events in the cafe in winter.

Our next stop was Skye Weavers, from the sign on the side of the road I followed a steep track down hill to find a cottage and a series of workshops. It is a small weaving and sewing business buying woollen thread to weave into cloth on their pedal powered loom. I was taken through the whole process starting with threading the loom up to weaving some scarves - I even had a go myself.

Last stop at Glendale was a place called Dragonfly Studio. The friendly owner, her family and friends made everything sold in the shop, including knitting & crochet, sewing, jewelery and wood turning.

Search This Blog

Welcome to my crafty blog, and thank you for taking a look.
I worked as a palliative care specialist children's nurse for a local hospice charity in the community. I live in Kent but am often found in Sussex and Suffolk. I live with Alan, my husband of 33 years. Our grown up triplets, Andrew Catherine and Emily have flown the nest and spread their wings all over the country.
I enjoy scrapbooking, card making, sewing and embroidery. I also knit and crochet.
I love to walk, travel and take photos of my family and my trips.
I am also involved in tracing my family tree.
Enjoy reading my blog, and please leave a comment, I would love to hear what you think of my posts.